Metrolinx said Tuesday it had acquired the lower portion of the
Newmarket rail subdivision in central-north Toronto from
Montreal-based CN, Canada's largest rail company.

The transaction gives Metrolinx full ownership of the
96-kilometre-long Barrie-Bradford GO Train corridor between
downtown Toronto and Barrie, Ont., the provincial transit agency
said in a release.

Go Transit, the operating division of Metrolinx, provides
commuter rail and bus services in the Toronto area of southern
Ontario.

"This transaction marks a milestone for the agency, giving us —
for the first time — end-to-end ownership of a GO Transit rail
line," said Metrolinx president and chief executive Robert
Prichard, a past president and chief executive of Torstar Corp.,
owner of the Toronto Star newspaper and other publishing and
media properties.

"This transaction with CN — an important partner of ours — will
permit improvements to service between Toronto and Barrie and
points in-between. Improved commuter rail and mass transit are
vital to easing traffic congestion and air pollution in the
[Toronto area] while improving the productivity and economic
competitiveness of the region," Prichard said.

Claude Mongeau, CN's executive vice-president and incoming
president and CEO, said the transaction generates value for the
company.

"CN is pleased to have reached this sales agreement with
Metrolinx. We have close ties with GO — most of its services in
the Greater Toronto Area operate over CN's network — and we see
our partnership with GO and Metrolinx continuing to drive the
environmental benefits of rail in the Toronto region."

Under its sales agreement with Metrolinx, CN will continue to
serve five freight customers on the lower Newmarket subdivision
rail line between Highway 401 and CN's main east-west freight
corridor.